Jüdisches Auswanderungslehrgut (Gross-Breesen, Silesia) Collection
Scope and Content Note
This collection contains materials relating to the Auswanderungslehrgut Gross-Breesen, such as a complete set of the Rundbriefe (newsletters) via which former students stayed in touch and documented their life experiences after leaving Gross-Breesen. The collection also includes a handful of additional letters that appear to have been circulated among the same group, as well as some original documents from Gross-Breesen, clippings, reunion materials, and a three-volume compilation of material that includes, among other things, typed copies of the newsletters.
Dates
- 1935-2005
Creator
- Jüdisches Auswandererlehrgut Gross-Breesen (Organization)
Language of Materials
This collection is in German and English.
Access Restrictions
This collection is open to researchers.
Access Information
Collection is digitized. Follow the links in the Container List to access the digitized materials.
Historical Note
In the spring of 1936, the Reichsvertretung der Juden in Deutschland formed the Jüdisches Auswanderungslehrgut (Jewish Emigration Training Farm) in Silesia. The estate, known as Gross-Breesen, was donated by a Polish Jew named Willi Rohr, and was located near Obernigk in the district of Trebnitz. The goal of the institution was to provide young Jews agricultural skills in order to ease their emigration to other countries. The program, with about 120 participants, of which approximately 30 were girls, was led by psychologist and educator Dr. Curt Bondy (1894-1972). The curriculum was a mix of agriculture, Judaism, and German culture, and emphatically (and controversially) not Zionist. After the Kristallnacht in November 1938, 118 of the program's participants managed to leave Germany, primarily to England, the Netherlands, South America, and the United States. Bonds within the group remained strong, as newsletters and reunions continued into the 2000s.
Sources: Collection and Angress, Werner T. Auswandererlehrgut Gross-Breesen. Leo Baeck Institute Yearbook (1965) 10 (1): 168-187.
Extent
1.0 Linear Feet
Abstract
This collection contains materials relating to the Auswanderungslehrgut Gross-Breesen, a Silesian training farm created in 1936 by the Reichsvertretung der Juden in Deutschland to provide young Jews agricultural skills in order to ease their emigration from Germany. The materials include a complete set of the Rundbriefe (newsletters) via which former students stayed in touch and documented their life experiences after leaving Gross-Breesen. The collection also includes a handful of additional letters that appear to have been circulated among the same group, as well as some original documents from Gross-Breesen, clippings, reunion materials, and a three-volume compilation of material that includes, among other things, typed copies of the newsletters.
Arrangement
This collection is divided into two series.
Separated Material
A CD containing digitized photographs of Gross-Breesen was removed to the AV collection. The photos can be found here.
A copy of the book Kriegsbriefe gefallener Deutscher Juden was removed to the LBI Library. The inscription and title page were photocopied and are found in box 2, folder 10.
Processing Note
This collection is a combination of AR 3686, Jüdisches Auswanderungslehrgut (Gross-Breesen, Silesia) and AR 25294, Gross-Breesen Rundbrief Collection.
- Title
- Guide to the Jüdisches Auswanderungslehrgut (Gross-Breesen, Silesia) Collection, undated, 1935-2005 AR 3686
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Processed by Kevin Schlottmann
- Date
- © 2012
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- Finding aid is in English.
- Sponsor
- as part of the Leon Levy Archival Processing Initiative, made possible by the Leon Levy Foundation
Revision Statements
- October 24, 2014 : Links to digital objects added in Container List.
Repository Details
Part of the Leo Baeck Institute Repository
